how to clear ich faster (no fish in tank currently)

[jaredrah777]

Hello, I currently have a tank with an (snowflake eel, some hermits, cleaner shrimp, and some snails) just went through a huge tank wipeout that killed my scopas, rabbitfish, emperor angel, and more… all from ich… i was curious what i should do now that theres no fish in the tank and i have to wait the 76 days… i have the water temp at 81… any more suggestions??? i want to speed up the process

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Hello, I currently have a tank with an (snowflake eel, some hermits, cleaner shrimp, and some snails) just went through a huge tank wipeout that killed my scopas, rabbitfish, emperor angel, and more… all from ich… i was curious what i should do now that theres no fish in the tank and i have to wait the 76 days… i have the water temp at 81… any more suggestions??? i want to speed up the process

You have an eel in there, this means ich can still survive. The eel will need to be removed and treated and the tank will need to sit fallow for the ich to run through its life cycle and die out.

For treating the eel, I am not sure if copper is OK, as I do not keep eels. I think there is sticky in the fish disease section that lists out what treatment for what fish, eels included.

 

[jaredrah777]

You have an eel in there, this means ich can still survive. The eel will need to be removed and treated and the tank will need to sit fallow for the ich to run through its life cycle and die out.

For treating the eel, I am not sure if copper is OK, as I do not keep eels. I think there is sticky in the fish disease section that lists out what treatment for what fish, eels included.

i thought eels couldn’t get ich

 

[Andresnyc93]

Adding a UV sterilizer helps.
besides keeping your water crystal clear it’ll zap all the free swim little salt dot creeps

 

[Eagle_Steve]

i thought eels couldn’t get ich

Eels can get ich. They just typically do not get overrun with it, as they have a very slick slime coat. Similar to how a mandarin can be in a tank with ich'd out fish and never show spots.

 

[jaredrah777]

Eels can get ich. They just typically do not get overrun with it, as they have a very slick slime coat. Similar to how a mandarin can be in a tank with ich'd out fish and never show spots.

so the ich wont die with 1 baby eel in the tank?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

so the ich wont die with 1 baby eel in the tank?

It could and it couldnt. The fact that ich can reproduce via the eel is why I would remove and treat. If you are truly going for an ich free tank, all variables must be taken into account. If you plan to do ich management, that is whole different story and usually left to very old and mature tanks with tons of little mouths that will eat the trophents as they float around the tank.

What I am getting at, is that the ich population will probably die down to almost nothing, as the eel is not a "super carrier" like a PBT for example, but the fact it can carry it does not guarantee you will eliminate it from the tank.

 

[ProxyAquarist]

Hello, I currently have a tank with an (snowflake eel, some hermits, cleaner shrimp, and some snails) just went through a huge tank wipeout that killed my scopas, rabbitfish, emperor angel, and more… all from ich… i was curious what i should do now that theres no fish in the tank and i have to wait the 76 days…

Novice question here, why do you "... have to wait the 76 days…?"

Thanks and best wishes for the recovery,
Jim

 

[jaredrah777]

It could and it couldnt. The fact that ich can reproduce via the eel is why I would remove and treat. If you are truly going for an ich free tank, all variables must be taken into account. If you plan to do ich management, that is whole different story and usually left to very old and mature tanks with tons of little mouths that will eat the trophents as they float around the tank.

What I am getting at, is that the ich population will probably die down to almost nothing, as the eel is not a "super carrier" like a PBT for example, but the fact it can carry it does not guarantee you will eliminate it from the tank.

perfect i get it, thanks you

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Novice question here, why do you "... have to wait the 76 days…?"

Thanks and best wishes for the recovery,
Jim

76 days is the life cycle of certain types of ich. What this means, with no fish of course, is that ich goes through a life cycle and you have to beat it by letting it die out with no hosts.

@Bulk Reef Supply has a good image on this and it is below.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Here is the link to the fish to treatment guide. Looks like eels do not tolerate copper well, but I know people who have treated them with it in the past with no issues. I would refer to @Jay Hemdal for advise on treatment of the eel.

I will also say that this guide says copper is sketchy for puffers, but I have personally treated a ton of puffers with coppersafe and had 0 issues.

Fish and Treatment Guidelines (with chart)

Fish and Treatment Guidelines (with chart) The following chart is a quick reference guide on what QT protocol should be used according to which type of fish you are running through QT. It will give you an idea of which methods are generally safest with certain species but is not meant to be...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ProxyAquarist]

76 days is the life cycle of certain types of ich. What this means, with no fish of course, is that ich goes through a life cycle and you have to beat it by letting it die out with no hosts. ,,,,

Thanks @Eagle_Steve !

This kind of information and kind explanation is what drove me to R2R.

I really appreciate the information,

Jim

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks @Eagle_Steve !

This kind of information and kind explanation is what drove me to R2R.

I really appreciate the information,

Jim

Coppersafe is fine with puffers. It may cause an eel to go off feed for a bit, but if the eel is well-fed, it won’t be an issue.
Eels don’t often die from ich, but they may be able to carry enough trophonts to keep the infection going.
Jay